IvyCap and Thomson Reuters Team up to Take Award-Winning RML Service for Farmers in India to the Next Level

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Amit Mehra, Founder and MD of Reuters Market Light, will continue to be the CEO
Mumbai, February 25, 2013 - Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information
for businesses and professionals, and IvyCap Ventures Advisors Private Limited (IvyCap), a venture
capital fund management company, today announced that the two firms have come together to support
the continued development of Reuters Market Light (RML), the award-winning information service for
India's farming community. The agreement sees IvyCap, which is backed by the IIT Alumni Network,
become the lead investor in RML with Thomson Reuters remaining as a shareholder and partner in the
newly formed RML Information Services Private Limited.
Amit Mehra, founder and managing director of RML, will continue to be the CEO of RML Information
Services Private Limited and provide management continuity for the business.
RML supports both companies' aims to deliver innovative services that support the development of
the local communities they serve. Established in 2007, Reuters Market Light pioneered the
multi-award winning service that provides agricultural, weather, market price and crop information
over mobile phones to the farming community. Today, RML has reached more than 1 million unique
subscribers across an estimated 50,000 villages and 17 states. Through sharing, it is estimated to
have reached nearly 5 million farmers. RML has been recognized nationally and internationally for
its positive contribution to India's farming community and named by the United Nations in 2008 as
one of the initiatives that has the potential to contribute to the Millennium Development Goals.
"We are very excited by the uniqueness of the RML business model and its growth potential due to
innovation in the agriculture information and technology space," said Vikram Gupta, founder and
managing partner, IvyCap Ventures. "We are also looking forward to adding significant value
through our network of relationships across the value chain of RML."
"Thomson Reuters believes it can do well by 'doing good' in the communities it serves and
initiatives like RML, plus our work on supporting property rights and access to justice underscore
this commitment," said Shanker Ramamurthy, president of Global Growth & Operations, Thomson
Reuters. "We incubated and brought RML to India's agricultural community at a time when farmers
had little or no visibility into the market prices of their crops and this has changed the
agricultural landscape. Thomson Reuters is pleased to join forces with IvyCap to provide the
additional focus, expertise and investment needed to deliver the RML service that benefits
thousands of rural farmers each day."
Terms and conditions of the transaction were not disclosed.
IvyCap invests in start-ups and growth stage companies across sectors including agriculture,
education, energy, healthcare and technology. The company's industry experience and network in the
technology industry in particular, will help RML strengthen its product offering for the
agricultural and rural markets. The company has a unique philosophy to give back part of its
profits to the leading educational institutions, an approach that strengthens its alumni networks
further.
About IvyCap Ventures
IvyCap Ventures, a venture capital fund sponsored by the Alumni Trust, is guided by
entrepreneur-centric investment approach. It has a strong network of alumni from IITs and other
premier institutions that add significant value in speeding up the growth of its portfolio
companies. IvyCap invests in early and growth stage companies across sectors such as Healthcare,
Education, Energy, Agricultural / Rural, Technology and other innovation oriented businesses.
IvyCap has a unique philosophy to give back part of its profits to the leading educational
institutions, an approach that strengthens its alumni networks further.
About Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and
professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical
information to leading decision makers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting,
intellectual property and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news
organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota,
Thomson Reuters employs approximately 60,000 people and operates in over 100 countries. Thomson
Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. For more information, go
to http://thomsonreuters.com http://thomsonreuters.com/ .
For more information on Reuters Market Light, go to ww.reutersmarketlight.com
http://www.reutersmarketlight.com/
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